Parallel-plier nippers.



N0. 684,0l5. Patented 001. 8, l90l. H. G. WEIBEZAHL. PARALLEL PLIERNIPPEBS.

(Applicatiqn filed Mar. 1, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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N0. 684,0l5. Patented Oct. 8, I90]; H. G. WEIBEZAHL.

PARALLEL PLlEB NIPPEBS.

(Application filed. 1, 1901.)

2 Shoots-Shet 2.

(No Model.)

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NITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

HERMAN e. WEIBEZAHL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PARALLE L-PLIER NIPPEIQS.

SPEGIFIQATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 684,015, dated October8, 1901.

Application filed'Marcli 1, 1901. Serial No. 49:458. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it ntcty concern:

Be it known that LHERMAN G. WVEIB'EZ'AHL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city and county ofNew York, State of New York, have invented certain new Improvements inParallel- Plier Nipper-s; and I hereby declare the following, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, said drawings forming a part of thisspecification.

The object of the present invention is to provide a tool in the class ofparallel working pliers which, in addition to certain advantagespossessed bythe pliers for which I made application for Letters PatentJan nary 9, 1901, Serial No. 42,653, as well as those described in myapplication filed February 11, 1901, Serial No. 46,833, shall have astill greater ratio of power and possess other points of superiority andnovelty which will be fully disclosed in the description of the tool. Iwill only note the new feature in cutting-knives which I have inventedand incorporated in this tool, which consists in so arranging the knivesor cutters that while traveling toward each other in a parallel position one cutting edge travelsinwardly while the other remainsstationary.

I have found one grave fundamental error in the construction ofcutting-nippers such as at present on the market, which is that theknives are made to approach each other on the radius of a circle.Another lies in the fact that the more power the tool is designed togive the smaller is the radius in which the jaws are made to traveltoward one another. This has been brought to such a state ofexaggeration that in the most powerful nippers on" the market t0-daytheso-called pianowire nippersthe radius described is that of a circle ofabout one andone-quarter inches in diameter only. The result is that theopening of the jaws is necessarily very limited to keep the openingstretchof the handles within bounds and that the tool is useless exceptfor the cutting of comparatively-small-sized wires. \Vorking on sosmalla radius, the knives as they are entering the more solid part of thesubstance to becut are therefore not following the line of the outalready made, but are obliged to force the metal un-' equally away fromthe edges of the knives. This is still further aggravated by the factthat the cutting-jaws are not curved, but

made to present an almost straight line across the head. The naturalpressure of the metal cut would tend to force the cutters to cut astraight line, whereas from their radial motion they follow a curveinstead of achord of the circle. An unequal strain on the edges of thecutting-knives results, and as they are tempered with a view to hardnessand not flexibility chipping out of pieces of the cut ting-knivesoccurs, no matter how carefully used, but too frequently. metal to becut the greater of course is the twisting strain on the knives. Hence itis impractical to construct these tools to give more than a very limitedcutting capacity.

In my experimenting I have found that the same knives if driven throughthe same material of double the thickness Will not chip out if the powerbe applied to them directly in the rear and if made to travel towardeach other in an absolutely true line. I of the knife then bears anequal burden The thicker the.

Each side and strain from the metal to be displaced by the thickerportions of the knife. Less power is therefore required for the samework, there being, as shown, no displacement of material except for thethickening knives and all of that being distributed equally on bothsides."

In tools of the side-cutting class some of the defects of the varietyjust mentioned are ob viated; but I know of no construction in such toolwhere there is not some side play, tending to throw the knives out of atrue line from There is the A radial side IOO terial to be cut was ofany degree of hardness, while no attempt was made to provide means forkeeping the cutting edges true toward each other, a sideway spring ofthe cutting-jaw not being provided against. the object of overcomingthese defects I designed the parallel pliers referred to by their serialnumbers above, butfound that while I obtained a very high ratio of powerand developed automatically the greatest power when most neededviz., ator near the termination of the closing movementthe tools were lacking insome important essentials when adapted for cutting-nippers, which factled me to invent the tool which is the subject of the presentapplication and which overcomes the objections against the present formof such tools enumerated above to a great extent, if not wholly.

It is well known that in cutting any tough substance the cut is moreeasily made if the knife is given a side sliding motion while makingsuch out; but I know of no construction of pliers in which attempt hasbeen made to adapt that idea to their cutting-knives. In cutting metaltoo large for the tool by making incisions from difierent sides theremainder may be cut with ease. In cuttinga pencil with a penknife byrolling it under the edge of the blade a clean cut is easily made, whichwould be nearly impossible by sheer force, no matter what powerexpended. I fail to find that these principles have ever before beenutilized in such tools as now under consideration. I therefore set outto produce a tool in which the knives should be made to approach eachother from exactly opposite points and be practically each a portion ofthe other to prevent wabbling or twisting and in which they are given amovement producing a shear cut and a tendency to roll the rod and cutthe exterior surfaces before entering the solid center.

To provide a tool with still greater power than either of the othersmentioned above, powerful they are, was another of my objects. Takingthe five-inch tools (shown in the illustrations) which are made with theregular proportion of length of hand-levers, it will be found that whileI obtain in the case of one a ratio of six and one-half to one on theend jaws and thirteen to one on the side jaws and in the case of theother nine and one-half to one on the end jaws and eighteen and one-halfto one on the side jaws I obtain in the tool now described a power oftwelve and one-half to one on the end jaws and twenty-five to one on theside jaws. I can, as more fully shown hereinafter, increase this ratiovery largely, yet without resorting to hand-levers out of proportionwith the head of the tool or making it necessary to use both hands togrip the tool and apply the power. I have, therefore, so far as I know,constructed the most power-producing tool yet invented. I have at thesame time made it a com bination-tool applicable to other work than thatof cutting, and by a double cutter make it possible to grasp and cutwith this tool very much thicker substances than With anycutting pliersor nippers of the compound leverage type so far produced is able tohandle by making one set of cutters make a 'preliminary out andfinishing the cutting operation with the otherset. This is accomplishedby setting one of the cutting-faces of the cutter-plate employed in thisconstruction ata lower level than its mate, as is fully shown in theillustrations, wherever the double cutter-plate is employed. Ifurthermore have made the tool applicable for other purposes, as I maysubstitute other jaws for those shown in the illustrations. I may setcutters in the end jaws to make the tool applicable for nipping bolts orscrews close to the material they are set in, or I may set themlengthwise in the end jaws. I may also mount upon the shanks undersidejawsiu place of the cuttingknife, similar to those shown in myprevious applications. I have at the same time taken into considerationthe matter of cost of such a tool and have designed it so that its costwill be less than pliers having but one of the many superior attributesof this tool and that in an inferior degree.

While I have shown and shall describe the levers as made of sheet metal,Ido not desire to limit myself to such construction. Neither do I wishto limit myself to the exact form or shape or material in any of theillustrations or in the description. I may make, for example, the jawsout of sheet-steel also in stead of making them drop -forged, or maydrop-forge portions of the levers or all of them, or use cast-steel.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I will show and describewhat I consider its best. form and will afterward indicate certainimportant modifications. V

Figure 1 is a general face view of the tool with the double cuttersshown as open. Fig. 1 isa view of theinner cutting-knives employed inthis form of the tool. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same tool shown asclosed. Fig. 3 is a general face view of the tool with one jaw and onecutting-knife. Fig. 3 is aview of the inner cutter or knife employed inthe form of the tool shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is a general face view ofthe tool with both sets of cutters omitted. Fig. 5 represents a similarview of the same tool closed. Fig. 6 is a partial view of a modificationin which the secondary levers are lengthened at their rear ends andshortened forward of their fulcrums, with the slots in which the forwardends of the secondary levers work set on a slant to compensate for therelatively wider spread of the lower ends of the jaw-carrying members inthe main levers. Fig. '7 is a partial View of thetool represented inFig. 5, but with the slots set in the lower ends of the jawcarryingmembers instead of in their upper portions, changing places with thepins shown in the other illustrations. Fig. 8 is a partial View of thetool represented in Fig. 5, with the j aw-carrying members of the samethickness throughout, the secondary levers being ICC inade to occupy thesame plane as that on which the primary levers move by bending andoffsetting the lower portions of the secondary levers. tion, shown asopen, in which jaws slidingin and on the shanks are substituted for thecutter G. jaw within the vertical side slot and the other jaw embracingby its innerv slot or recess the jaw-carrying member constructed with ashank thinner than its corresponding member. Fig.10 is similar to Fig.9, but has both the jaw-carrying members and side jaws alike on eachside. It has, however, cutters mounted in the end jaws. Fig. 11 issimilar to the last described figure,with the end cutters omitted,however. In the three last figures I have shown the side jaws slotted attheir lower ends to work in connection with a pin set in thejaw-carrying members. to hold the faces of the side jaws true to eachother and par-v allel to each other in all positions. Fig. 12 representsa face view of the tool similarly constructed to that shown in Fig- 1.It has the cutter G suspended on the fulcrum-pin of the secondary leversand operated by the fulcrum-pin of the primary levers. It has additionalcutters mounted on the forward ends of the end jaws across their upperfaces and has the secondary levers mounted as illustrated in Fig. 6.

As the-construction of the last-named four figures Will be readilyunderstood from the description of the preceding figures, a moredetailed description of them will not appear in this specification. Allthe parts are designated similarly to parts in the other constructions,with the additional designating characters of the different figures.Referring to Fig. 1, A B are the primary levers. They are bifurcated,with lips of circular shape by whichthey are attached to each other andare held together by means of the fulcrum-pin 1, which is preferablymade with a shoulder on each end and passed" through both sets of lipsand through the plate G, to be hereinafter. described, and firmlyattached to said lips by means of riveting the heads over, oris equippedwith th readed studs and nuts to facilitate the removal of the cuttersG. This binds the levers well together and prevents their buckling orspringing. I may, however, employ two fulcrumpins, if desired. Thelevers are preferably stamped out of sheet-steel of the proper thicknessand formed to shape. The two sets of primary levers are connected attheir upper extremities to sets of secondary levers O D, one pair oneach side of thetool, by the pins or'rivets 5 6, which on their innersides are well set in countersunk holes in the primary levers, so as towork smoothly over and on the jaw-carrying members on which they areplaced. The secondary levers are also joined by circular lips D, set ator near'the midlength of said levers. Each lip on each set of the leversis stamped to present a portion Fig. 9 represents a modifica- In thisview I have shown one sideof a true circle,and one is made to overlapits companion and present a circular bearing on its inner side for theopposite lip. The

and carries an end jaw and a side jaw. It is;

slotted vertically at e, in which slot works the pin 3, before referredto. a vertical edge slot to allow the plate G to fit snugly within same,but with sufficient play The shank has also.

to allow it to freely move up and downin the slot without friction. Therearward end of the shank E is pinned to the lever A bythe pin 7, uponwhich it works pivotally. At the upper end are one end jaw to match thatcarried by the member F and a side jaw extending outwardly at rightangles to the end jaw. I

I groove out the center of this latter jawfor the purpose of inserting aknife or cutter in the same and fasten this cutter to the jawrbymeans ofthe pins E The cutting-jawmay of course be made integral with thesidejaw;

one be substituted in its place or taken out to be sharpened.

F is the opposite member to E. tical with it, but is clamped betweenthele-j vers B D. Both members E and Fare made thinner on those portionsupon which the levers A B work to allow the secondary levers G D to lieiiat upon the ends of the primary In Fig. 8 I show a construction whichJ obviatesthis necessity by bending the lower levers.

unnecessary bending of the metal,vas' byit' its first and best strengthis impaired.

G is a steel plate passing inside of the hori zontal slots inthe membersE F and is shaped but I prefer to setit in a separate cutter, so i thatit may be removed with ease and a new i It isiden ICO I IIO into knivesat those portions opposite toQthe cutters carried in the side jawsoflthe' members E F. I provide a slot at g, in which works the pin 2,constituting the fulcrum-pin of the secondary levers, and is guided bysaid pin in its up-and-down movement.. G is a hole made to match thefulcrum-pin 1 of the primary levers, which passes through the sameandgives the upward movement to the plate. a

In Fig. SI have-shown the cutting provision on one side only, G"referring to the cuttingplate. Other features of the tool correspondingwith those in the construction illustrated in Fig. 1 are substantiallythe same, with the exception of the shanks F of the jaw-carrying memberF", which is cut away at its in nor vertical edge for the reception ofthe corresponding cutting'edge of plate G. The

several pins are designated by the reference characters 1 to 8,inclusive, while the slots in the jaw-carrying portions are referred toby ef". The slot in the cutting-plate is indicated by g, while the lowerperforation therein is designated by G.

Figs. 4 and 5 show the tool with end jaws only. Neither of thejaw-carrying members Epfi Fit is slotted horizontally. Its constructionand operation are otherwise identical with the other tool and will bereadily understood therefrom. All the parts which correspond withsimilar ones in the preceding figures are designated by like referencecharacters, with the addition of the sign s.

In Fig. 6 I show a'different construction, applicable to all, which isused if a still greater ratio of power be desired than that given in theconstruction shown. As the ratio obtained by the tool described is verygreat and since, as shown, no power is wasted by the knives following afalse line of cut in the cutting operation, it will probably be foundamply sufficient in power to meet all the requirements without resortingto this form. The already-familiar parts of this tool are in this figuredesignated by their former reference characters, with the addition ofthe sign In Fig. 7 the tool is provided with slots eifi in the shanks ofthe jaw-carrying members E F}. The secondary levers Cf Di areoperatively connected with the primary levers Ar Bi. This view presentsa variation of the construction disclosed in the preceding figu res.

In the construction of the tool I have taken into consideration the factthat to withstand the strain put upon the tool the parts must be wellbound together and be made of proportionately heavier materials. Thestrain being taken by so many pivots in conjunction, the size shown isthought to be sufficient. The main fulcrum-pin l on the primary leverswill be necessarily the strongest to prevent shearing. I may alsoincrease the bearingsnrfaces of the lips B D beyond that shown in theillustrations. In the case of bent sheetsteelI may shape the die to cutthe metal, with an additional lip to fold back over the outer lips.

In the operation of the tool it will be seen that as the levers arepressed together the tines of the primary levers are carried outward,carrying with them the lower ends of the secondarylevers, which forcesinward the upper ends of the jaw-carrying members at the same rate ofprogress at which the lower ends are carried by the pins 7 8 in thelever-handles. The jaw-carrying members being pivotally attached bythese pins, they are carried downward to a positionconsiderably belowthe fulcrum-line, the fulcrum by this change being forced upward towardthe load. The fulcrum of the secondary levers meanwhile is by the samechange drawn downward to meet the main fulcrum. The

forward ends of the secondary lovers are in the closing movement forcedupward in the slots 6 funtil near the termination of the closingmovement, when they again travel downward, though to a limited extent,keeping well behind the load at all times, however. The slots 6 f aretherefore shorter than in the case of the constructions which were madethe subjects for previous applications for patents. It will be seen thatin this construction I obviate the lengthening of the tool toanyconsiderable extent, as I offset the circle described by the ends of theprimary levers by the circle described by the secondary levers and makethe movement approach the true parallel lateral motion similar to thetools described in my former applications referred to. As in thoseapplicationsI discussed this question, I will not dwell upon thisfeature.

The cutter plate G being pivoted on the ful crum-pin 1 is forced upwardin relation to the side jaws E F, which while receding travel downwardat the same time. The effect therefore is to give the two knifeedges anapparently double opposite motion. In reality, however, the side jawalone executes a side motion. The cutter G is held in a parallelposition to the side jaws by the slot g, in which the fulcrum-pin 2travels. It will be seen that there is no opportunity for thecutting-knife to be forced to one side or the other, as it ispractically an integral part of the jaw=carr \7ing members, being heldfirmly between both, and that the cutting edges must work toward eachotheron a perfectly true line. The side motion given to the side jawtends to give the object manipulated 011 a rolling motion between theknives and to cut the outer edges before reaching the central portions.In the case of a stationary object the tendency of the tool is to turnabout the object. The tool thus accomplishes what I have designed itfor, viz: The knives are driven through the material to be out in a trueline toward one another, being given at the same time a shearing motionby the in- I ward motion of the knife in the upper side jaw. By thesemeans I obtain the full theoretical power of the tool, except that lostby friction, losing none, however, by reason of a false cutting-linebeing described by the knives.

The modification shown in Fig. 7 is applicable to the tool in Fig. 1also, especially where power is not sought for in such an 0X- treme as Ihave produced in the tool designated by the latter figure. Thejaw-carrying members in this case being held firmly by the upperextremities of the secondary levers and sliding, by means of the slots 0f, over the pivots set stationary in the handle portions of the primarylevers, the jaws are carried upward in the closing movement until nearthe termination of this movement, when they again descend. The upwardmovement of the fulcrum-pin in the primary levers is more rapid andcontinuous through- 11, a certain advantage is gained by this arrangement.

Other modifications may be made without sacrificing the advantages of myinvention or departing from its principles, and parts of theconstruction shown may be used without others.

What I claim is 1. In pliers, uncrossed primary levers, bifurcated,working in conjunction with uncrossed secondary levers, withjaw-carrying members located in, and attached to same, and equipped withmeans to produce parallel motion, and all coacting with one another,substantially as set forth.

2. In pliers, cutters, one mounted on a centrally-hung cutter-platehaving free longitudinal motion, the other,.mounted in the jawcarryingmember, having a downward and lateral motion, each of the said cuttersmounted and held parallel one to the other, in respect to theircutting-surfaces, all substantially as herein specified.

3. In pliers, end jaws and side jaws, with corresponding cutters setopposite cuttersin said side jaws, equipped with means to insureparallel movement to the end jaws, and with sets of levers coacting withsaid means to secure the simultaneous parallel movements of the variousjaws and cutters, all combined and arranged substantially as set forth.

4:. In parallel pliers having a descending side jaw with cutter-knifeand a main and secondary fulcrum, a cutting-knife carried on the mainfulcrum and in sliding engagement with the secondary fulcrum, to permitthe rising of same tomeet the descending cutter-knife of the side jaw,together with operative connections, all coacting, substantially as setforth.

5. In pliers, a cutting-jaw moving toward a corresponding cutter guidedand laterally engaged by the shank of said jaw, the cutting-jaw with alateral side motion in its descent, with means for retaining theparallel position of both the cutter and the side jaw toward each other,substantially as set forth.

6. In parallel pliers, uncrossed. primary and secondary levers,jaw-carrying members equipped with end jaws and engaged with saidlevers, side jaws engaging said levers and members respectively by apin-and-slot engagement at one extremity and .having pivotal connectionat the other extremity, all equipped with means, and coacting with saidmeans, to bring each jaw towardits compan ion jaw, substantially as setforth.

7. In pliers, cutters, in sets, one set on each side of the tool, withone of said sets,

only partially closed when the other setis completely closed, eachcutter being at all times held parallel to its companion, with the upperside cutters approaching their companion cutters with a sideway motionin their descent, all combined and arranged substantially as hereinspecified.

8. In parallel pliers, primary and secondary levers and jaw-carryingmembers attached thereto, and working on same, said levers also joinedto each other and each set joined by fulcrums and fulcrum-pins, and allequipped with means, coacting with one another to operate the jawsinsaid tool simultaneously by the motion of the handle-levers, allsubstantially as set forth.

9. In pliers, end jaws attached to members carrying each a side jaw,equipped with means toinsureparallel movementsofthe end jaws,cutter-knives operated in conjunction with and approaching said sidejaws in parallel motion, and with a single pair of operating-handlcspivoted to secondary levers, all coacting with one another,substantially as set forth.

10. In parallel pliers, end jaws carried on shanks having side jawsextending at right angles therefrom, a cutting-knife guided by saidshanks parallel to said side jaws, the latter traveling inwardly whiledescending, said cutting-knife in its ascent traveling outwardlyrelatively from said shanks, all equipped with means for such movementssubstantially as set forth.

11. Parallel pliers actuated by two sets of levers, the primary setjoined by a common fulcrum and attached to the secondary levers, alsoconnected by a common fulcrum, said secondary levers connected, at theirforward.

ends, through slots in the jaws of the tool, the shanks of said jawsbeing pivotally attached to the rear of the fulcrum of said primarylevers, all arranged and coacting substantially as set forth.

12. In pliers of the class described, primary bifurcated levers havingacommon fulcrum, the tines of said levers working each on the same sideof the tool with the lever-handles to which they are attached, sets ofsecondary levers also fulcrumed so that each works in conjunction withits primary lever on the same side of the tool, having attach ed tothem, and incoactive conjunction therewith, parallel jaws carried onshanks, in pin-and-slot engagement at one extremity and pivotallyconnected at the other extremity, all substantially as set forth.

13. In pliers of the class described, primary and secondary levers, jawsand connections therefor with and to said levers, one of thoseconnections pivotal with the primary levers, the other in operativeengagement with the secondary levers so as to cause the jaws to retractas they approach each other and to reduce the lengthening of the tool inits closing movement, all arranged and cooperating substantially as setforth.

responding cutters set in the jaws, so that the cutters are always indirect line with the cutters suspended within them, and neither can beforced to either side, but works true against its companion,substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I aflix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

HERMAN G. \VEIBEZAIIL.

NVitnesses:

M. F. BOYLE, J. B. CLAUTICE.

